I generally start my cheese with milk that is still warm from the cow. (It's usually just the right temperature for the first ripening. ) I've been making goudas, jacks, edam, cheddars, and fontina.

Here's my confession: I don't use CaCl. Even if it is in the recipe, I leave it out. When I first started making cheese, I did use it, but never liked the resulting texture of the cheese. It seemed to be too "brittle" when the CaCl was added.

I'm curious about what others think. It seems that many of you are fine tuning the quantity of CaCl you use. Are you using fresh milk or older milk for your cheese? Does the age of the milk have a significant effect?

Generally I don't use CaCl2 with fresh raw milk. There are certain times, however, that I find it helpful, such as during late stage lactation or late winter when the cows are eating late winter hay. Usually my floc time increases and gives me a clue to use a bit of calcium chloride, in an amount equal to the amount of rennet I use.Otherwise, just ignore the CaCl in recipes when using raw milk.Pam